Adya Godboley
Globalization had a massive influence on one of the most important and famous media of entertainment, anime. Hayao Miyazaki has worked on some of the most loved movies created by Studio Ghibli. From Howl’s Moving Castle to Spirited Away, storytelling and art meet each other in the most natural way possible when Miyazaki takes over.
Hayao Miyazaki’s approach to storytelling is unique and it manages to grip the audience in the most wonderful way. Whether his projects are being released in Japan or the United States of America, they are always well received. This also explains why Spirited Away won the 2003 Acadamy Award for Best Animated Feature. Studio Ghibli has collaborated with Disney on several occasions and for the much-loved movie, it was not much different either.
Disney Did Not Trust Hayao Miyazaki’s Work
Before Disney worked with Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki in Spirited Away, they collaborated on Princess Mononoke. The film was much different from what the multibillion-dollar company had expected, taking aback when they were asked to distribute a movie with such dark themes. It was not new for Disney to make deals with other studios and distribute movies, Studio Ghibli also fell in the same category. However, Spirited Away was doomed for failure had the studios kept getting their way.
Due to the poor performance that Princess Mononoke had in the United States of America, Disney was not eager to release the movie that seemed to break one record after another in Japan. Had it not been for Pixar, the mass media company would have never given the movie a proper release at all. According to Miyazaki, John Lasseter, the founder of Pixar made sure Disney went through with what they had initially committed to. The movie was already getting massive praise from all corners of the world and critics had their eye on the masterpiece as well. Lasseter took things into his own hands and called upon voice actors who often worked for Pixar.
He made sure the movie was dubbed in English so that it could have a smoother release in the United States and Disney’s attempts to sabotage its success were thrashed. The movie ended up making $395 Million worldwide, something the company had surely not expected.
Also Read: Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Movie The Boy and the Heron Breaks Rare Record Set by Another Studio Ghibli Film
Disney Was Wrong About Spirited Away
Harvey Weinstein and Hayao Miyazaki had a lot of back and forth when it came to the release of Princess Mononoke. The movie needed no cuts and that did not sit well with the disgraced director. Miyazaki got his way in the end, rather victorious about how things went between the two. So he was adamant when it came to the release of his masterpiece, Spirited Away. The record that the movie managed to make was no ordinary one either. Its success was only surpassed almost two decades later by Demon Slayer – Kimestu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, which ended up making $507 Million worldwide.
“One of the greatest animated films ever made, might be better than any Disney film I’ve ever seen.”
Steven Spielberg himself chose to praise the movie because of how outstanding it was. It is safe to say that Disney sure regretted its decision to hold a movie back that would go on to win some of the biggest and most prestigious awards. Princess Mononoke may have been somewhat of a disappointment for Disney but Spirited Away was the exact opposite of that.
Source: Collider
